The present invention relates to the new and distinct hosta plant, Hosta ‘Rhino Hide’ discovered by Donald A. Rawson in the summer of 2000 at a garden in Comstock Park, Mich. The new plant was discovered as an un-induced whole plant growing in a bed of Hosta ‘Love Pat’ (not patented). It is not known whether the new plant is a sport of ‘Love Pat’ or a random seedling. Hosta ‘Love Pat’ is reported to be a seedling between Hosta ‘Blue Velvet’ (not patented) as the pod or female parent and Hosta ‘Blue Vision’ (not patented) as the pollen or male patent. Hosta ‘Rhino Hide’ was first asexually propagated by division at the garden in Comstock Park, Mich. in 2004 and all resulting plants have retained all the same traits as the original plant. The plant has also been asexually propagated by division by the inventor and also asexually by tissue culture at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich., with the resultant plants in both cases of this asexual propagation maintaining all the same traits of the original plant. The plant is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The most similar known hosta cultivars are: Hosta ‘Tokudama Aureonebulosa’ (not patented), Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ (not patented), Hosta ‘Love Pat’ (not patented) and Hosta ‘Love Burst’ (not patented). Hosta ‘Tokudama Aureonebulosa’ and Hosta ‘Love Burst’ (not patented) are the most similar in color. Hosta ‘Love Burst’ is a viridescent sport of ‘Love Pat’ with a lighter center variegation that becomes bluish-green by mid season, and the variegation is not noticeable for the remainder of the season. Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ has much more white to creamy-white in the center leaf portion rather than the greenish-gold coloration of the center of the leaf of ‘Rhino Hide’. The most unique trait setting Hosta ‘Rhino Hide’ apart from all other known hostas is the thickness of the mature leaf and tepal tissue as measured by a micrometer to the nearest 0.005 mm. ‘Rhino Hide’ leaf thickness measures 0.430 mm in the space between the leaf veins while other cultivars, including those thicker leaf tetraploid forms are between 0.165 mm and 0.380 mm. Tepal thickness of ‘Rhino Hide’ is about 0.080 mm whereas tepal thickness of all other hostas measured ranged from 0.040 mm to 0.065 mm.
TABLE OF COMPARATIVE LEAF THICKNESSHOSTA CULTIVARMEAN‘Blue Ivory’ 0.305 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,623‘Grand Marquee’ 0.395 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,961‘Great Expectations’ (not patented)0.255 mm‘Liberty’ 0.320 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,531‘Love Pat’ (not patented)0.230 mm‘Rainbow's End’ 0.240 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,251‘Rhino Hide’0.445 mm‘Sum and Substance’ (not patented)0.305 mm‘Thunderbolt’ 0.320 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,232‘Titanic’0.305 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,402‘Tokudama Aureonebulosa’ (not patented)0.305 mm‘Touch of Class’ 0.370 mmU.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,080